The night before Oliver’s birthday, I tried to ask him how excited he would be to turn 4. Well, he didn’t seem to like my line of questioning. I do admit, watching this now, that I let this conversation go on a little long. But it still makes me laugh a bit.

This was shot on March 5. Three weeks later and he still refuses to turn 4. So it goes with a sometimes-fun, often-stubborn toddler.

First, I know that I haven’t blogged in ages. Please forgive me. I’ve been busy in every facet of life – never busier, in fact.

But I had to post this. It’s pretty amazing. My sister and her husband got Oliver a guitar for Christmas, and he has taken a liking to strumming the strings and singing. Unprompted the other day, he sang “Favorite Things” from “The Sound of Music.” He knows the words because Sarah sings it to him several times a week when putting him to bed. However, we were still shocked that he knew the lyrics THIS WELL. I had no clue he had the lines down. Again, pretty cool stuff.

It’s a little hard to hear, but I was lucky to have the camcorder in my hand and to be taping when he started. Enjoy.

Five years, 10 months and 15 days later, and our wedding album finally arrived today. First, I cannot believe or wedding was that long ago. Second, we JUST got our wedding album! Can’t believe we waited this long to order it.

I’ve been lacking in my posts lately (OK, for about a year now – sorry!), but I’ve wanted to share some footage of Owen walking.

He’s 13-and-a-half months old, and I guess he’s been walking for about two weeks. It’s only been the past couple of days, however, that he’s gotten adventurous in terms of letting go for longer stretches, turning, etc. He kind of has a Charlie Chaplin-like waddled. Soon, he’ll be everywhere and the walking will be second nature. For now, it’s an adventure. Enjoy:

When I was a kid, we used to play a game call B#tt’s Up. I don’t know if we invented the game (my sister’s seem to believe we did), but it was a blast.

Mostly, we would play at school, using a gym class dodge ball. All you’d need is a good wall and a group of kids to play. Basically, you’d throw the ball against the wall and then somebody – whoever it went toward – would have to catch it. If that person bobbled the ball or it bounced off them, they would have to run to the wall. If somebody scooped up the ball and either hit the person or the wall before that person touched the wall, he or she would have to go “b#tt’s up.” It’s much like a free throw in basketball. The person would put two hands and the wall and you’d stand 10 or so feet back and get a free shot with the ball at that person’s backside. Anyway, lots of fun.

Long setup, for this, I know, but when my sister was in town a few weeks ago, the siblings and I played the game for a little bit and Oliver really wanted to join. He cracked us up, so I shot a video. Enjoy:

We started the day at the Butterfly House, where we met Sarah’s parents. Oliver really dug the bugs in the entrance area, and quite enjoyed watching all the butterflies swarm around us inside the glass conservatory. He spent a good chunk of time sitting on a bench because he wanted a butterfly to land on his nose. None did, but one did land on his shoe. That was cool enough. He looks happy, doesn’t he?

We had butterflies landing all over us, including on my rear end and on Sarah’s shoulder:

This month a big old batch of butterflies called Common Blue Morphos hatched. They were ALL OVER THE PLACE, and had really bright blue wings:

A rare family photo:

Next door to the Butterfly House is a carousel, so we of course had to take the boys for a couple spins. Oliver truly enjoyed it, despite this pouty face:

Owen started off by putting his mouth all over the yucky pole, but then just stared off like, “What the heck is going on?”

So how does he stack up against his older brother? I posted about Oliver’s 1-year appointment in February 2009 (click here to view the post ). Oliver was a half-inch taller, weighed about two-and-a-half pounds more and had a nearly identical head circumference. He was all-around big. Owen is just … tall … but with a big head. Oh well. He’s a cute little kid. Such a good boy.

Unrelated, but oh yeah, for anybody who would care, our dog turned 5 today. I let Molly sit on the couch with us for a few minutes, we gave her a few special biscuits and Oliver sang “Happy Birthday” to her. That’s about the extent of her birthday. It’s rough being at the bottom of the totem pole, but that’s what happens when you have kids. Poor girl? Nah, she’s gets more attention now from the boys that she could ever want.

I can’t believe it, but Owen just turned 1. His birthday was yesterday, and we had family and some friends over to celebrate. We also celebrated Olliver’s upcoming third birthday (technically, it’s next weekend). We had a lot of fun. Here’s a slideshow from the day:

Oliver will soon attend his last “2-year-olds” class at the library near our house. He attends most Mondays, and really loves it. With a work holiday this past Monday, I got to attend for just the second time. And boy, what a contrast!

The first time we went, he was barely 2, and he was so timid and shy. He sat on my lap the entire time, was the last kid to bring his colored paper up to the board during a game and wouldn’t participate in the songs/dances.

Now, he’s like Franklin or Pig-Pen from The Peanuts (remember their dancing during the Christmas special?)! He hardly pays attention, instead dancing by himself like a little goofball. He sings really, really loud. And he’s among the first kids to bring his colored paper up to the board during that game.

What a character!

I used my phone to shoot a couple videos so other people could see what I am talking about. Enjoy:

Hard to believe it, but our little boy is 11 months old today. Yes, little Owen who we seemingly just brought home from the hospital is almost a year old. He’s growing so fast.

He’s bulking up, eating more and more solid foods. He’s also crawling everywhere. And he’s always good for a laugh as he tugs away at my hair and tries to poke at my eyes and mouth with his tiny hands.

He finally cut his top two teeth just a couple days ago. It was a really long wait, as his two front bottom teeth came in more than three months ago. I believe we have a note from his pediatrician with a November date on it that says these top teeth would be coming in any day now. Better late then never, I guess.

So now we enter the final month of his first year on this planet. It’s been a great 11 months so far. I couldn’t have asked for a more easygoing baby. But man, time sure goes by so, so quickly.